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Climate change and the oneness of humanity.

Article Excerpt
With the release in February of the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), there remains little doubt about the reality of global warming.

"Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice, and rising global average sea level," wrote a committee of international scientists, known as Working Group I, in the IPCC's Fourth Assessment Report.

Moreover, there seems little doubt that global warming is caused by human activity. IPCC scientists--an international group that has long been known for its relatively conservative approach--are now more than 90 percent confident that humanity is bringing climate change upon itself, primarily through the burning of fossil fuels, which release carbon dioxide, the primary "greenhouse gas" that is understood as responsible for warming.

The potential dangers of global warming have long been known, of course, albeit sometimes intensely debated. But in April, a second group of IPCC scientists attached specific probabilities to various outcomes from warming.

They identified warming effects and associated trends, all with an 80 percent or greater probability, that include: increasingly severe weather, including...

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